Tomorrow 50,000 people run the TCS New York City Marathon, and a good number of the two million watching will decide, somewhere on First Avenue, that they want to do it next year. Then they’ll discover that New York is the hardest Major to get into: the drawing takes more than 240,000 applications for a few thousand places.
The good news is that the drawing is only one of six doors, and two of the others reward planning more than luck. Here’s every route into the 2027 race, on Sunday, 7 November 2027, in the order you should think about them, and the one thing that has to happen before 31 December 2026.
The short version
| Route | Who it’s for | When | Your odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| General drawing | Anyone | Applications expected in February 2027, results early March | Around 1–2% |
| 9+1 | NYRR members who can race in New York nine times in a year | Complete it by 31 Dec 2026 for the 2027 race | Guaranteed |
| Time qualifier | Fast runners | Run the time in 2026 | Guaranteed at an NYRR race; fastest-first otherwise |
| Charity | Anyone willing to raise $3,000 or more | Charities recruit from early 2027 | Very good, if you apply early |
| Tour operator | Runners outside the US | Packages on sale from early 2027 | Very good, at a price |
| Legacy | 15 or more New York finishes | Automatic | Guaranteed |
Entry fees in 2026 were $269.66 for NYRR members and $333.11 for non-members, with international entries higher. The 2027 fees are published with the drawing.
The drawing
The general drawing is free to enter and open to everyone. In recent years it has opened in the first week of February and closed about three weeks later, with results in the first days of March; for 2026 that was 4 to 25 February with results on 4 March. You give a card when you apply and it’s charged only if you’re drawn.
The numbers are the reason to read the rest of this article. The 2026 drawing had more than 240,000 applications, the most ever, and a success rate of roughly 1 to 2%. A second-chance drawing for about 24,000 NYRR members who were unsuccessful in the main one improves members’ odds a little, but not much.
So: enter the drawing in February, because it’s free and someone has to win. Then don’t plan your year around it.
9+1: guaranteed entry, if you live close enough
The NYRR 9+1 programme is the route most New Yorkers use. Be a New York Road Runners member, run nine qualifying NYRR races in a calendar year and volunteer at one, and you get guaranteed entry to the marathon the following year. Complete 9+1 in 2026 and you’re in for 2027.
Two things are different this time:
- The 2026 deadline is 31 December 2026. If you’ve already been working on it, count your races. The qualifying ones are NYRR-scored races in the five boroughs; virtual races and the marathon itself don’t count. The volunteer shift can be at any NYRR event, and the popular slots fill up early, so book it now rather than in December.
- From 2027, 9+1 changes. NYRR now runs a drawing for the right to attempt it: members applied in September, about 15,000 were drawn on 1 October and pay a $99 pass fee, and only pass holders can complete 9+1 in 2027 for the 2028 race. If you didn’t get a pass, you can’t start 9+1 next year. People finishing 9+1 in 2026 under the old rules are unaffected.
In practice 9+1 only works if you live in or near New York, or can visit nine times. For everyone else, it’s the next three routes.
Time qualifiers
Run fast enough in 2026 and you skip the drawing. The standards for the 2027 race, for a marathon or a half marathon run between 1 January and 31 December 2026, with your age on race day:
| Age | Men: marathon / half | Women and non-binary: marathon / half |
|---|---|---|
| 18–34 | 2:53 / 1:21 | 3:13 / 1:32 |
| 35–39 | 2:55 / 1:23 | 3:15 / 1:34 |
| 40–44 | 2:58 / 1:25 | 3:26 / 1:37 |
| 45–49 | 3:05 / 1:28 | 3:38 / 1:42 |
| 50–54 | 3:14 / 1:32 | 3:51 / 1:49 |
| 55–59 | 3:23 / 1:36 | 4:10 / 1:54 |
| 60–64 | 3:34 / 1:41 | 4:27 / 2:02 |
| 65–69 | 3:45 / 1:46 | 4:50 / 2:12 |
| 70–74 | 4:10 / 1:57 | 5:30 / 2:27 |
| 75–79 | 4:30 / 2:07 | 6:00 / 2:40 |
| 80+ | 4:55 / 2:15 | 6:35 / 2:50 |
The detail that matters: a time run at an NYRR race guarantees entry; a time run anywhere else doesn’t. Non-NYRR qualifiers are accepted fastest-first into a limited number of places, and in 2026 the cut was more than 20 minutes under the marathon standard. If you can run a qualifying half marathon, the NYRR races (the NYC Half in March, the Brooklyn Half in May, and a few others) are the sure route; a sub-2:53 somewhere else is not.
If a time like this is within reach, it needs a club-runner training block, not a finishing plan. But if you’re a 3:00 marathoner at 40, 2:58 is three minutes, and that’s a winter of work.
Charity
The reliable route for most people. NYRR works with hundreds of official charity partners (670 in 2026, a record), each with a block of guaranteed entries. You commit to a fundraising minimum, which the programme sets at $3,000 or more per runner, and many charities ask $4,000–6,000, plus the entry fee. In return you get a bib, usually a training programme and a cheer station, and a reason to keep going at mile 22.
Charities open their 2027 applications from early 2027 and the well-known ones fill within weeks. The partner list is on NYRR’s site; the application goes to the charity, not to NYRR. If you’re abroad, check that the charity accepts international runners; many do.
NYRR’s own Team for Kids (minimum $3,000 plus a sign-up fee) is the largest programme and the easiest to find.
Tour operators
If you live outside the United States, official international travel partners sell packages with a guaranteed entry, usually bundled with a hotel and sometimes flights. They go on sale early in the year and the better-priced ones sell out quickly. Only operators on NYRR’s official list have real entries; a package from anyone else is a hotel booking and a drawing application.
Legacy
Finish the New York City Marathon 15 times and you’re eligible for guaranteed, paid entry for the rest of your running life. Not a plan for 2027, but a nice thing to know at mile 20.
What to do now
- Before 31 December: if you’re an NYRR member and have been running their races, count your 2026 races and book a volunteer shift. Nine plus one by New Year’s Eve means a 2027 bib.
- In January: if you want a charity place, pick your charity and apply the week it opens. If you’re abroad, compare the tour operators.
- In February: enter the drawing. It’s free. Set a calendar reminder for the day it opens; the window is three weeks.
- In March: results. If you’re in, the race is 7 November 2027 and a 16-week marathon plan starts on Monday, 19 July 2027. If you’re not, the charity places are still open, and so are the other Majors, some of which are easier to get into.
Whatever route you take, the training is the same. In the app, start a marathon plan and pick a Monday; it shows you the Sunday you finish, which for New York should read 7 November.
Entry details are from New York Road Runners’ published 2027 entry information and the 2026 drawing statistics as of 14 October 2026. NYRR announces the 2027 drawing dates and fees in early 2027; check nyrr.org before you plan around them.
